Ms Dhu, Spinifex Gum (featuring Felix Riebl and Marliya) (2017)
This song protests the death of Yamatji woman Ms Dhu, who died in a police cell in Western Australia on 4 August 2014. She was arrested two days earlier and placed in custody for unpaid fines. She complained of feeling unwell, and was taken to the Hedland Health campus three times.
On the first two visits, she was discharged after being found to have “behavioural” issues. Her temperature was not taken, nor was her chest x-rayed. The police assumed she was feigning illness, or was having withdrawal symptoms typical of an addict. She was barely conscious when finally taken for her third visit, where she died after going into cardiac arrest. The cause of death was septicaemia and pneumonia, stemming from an unhealed broken rib.
In December 2016, a coroner found that the police behaviour had been “inhumane” and that Ms Dhu’s life could have been saved by a correct diagnosis and the prescription of antibiotics. The police behaviour was said to be influenced by preconceptions about Indigenous people. The police neglect for Ms Dhu is shockingly revealed by CCTV footage of her incarceration.
The coroner recommended cultural training for police, and that people no longer be incarcerated for the non payment of fines. There are no current plans for any particular police officer to face legal sanctions for Ms Dhu’s death.
West Australian Premier Colin Barnett responded to the footage by saying that the relevant police behaviour “should never have happened” and should not be excused, before he went on to say that the police were in “a difficult situation”. It is not clear to me what particular difficulty he was talking about.
This song, says it all. It is produced by Felix Riebl, singer with Cat Empire, along with the Marliya singers from the Gondwana Indigenous Children’s Choir. It tells the story of Ms Dhu’s 45 hours in custody at South Hedland police station.
